As You Wish
by Lady McClellan
Summary: Suppose you discovered you were a mutant at the age of 34? What would you do? Go to Beast and Gambit for help.


Ok, this is my second submission, but it's actually my first piece written, so be kind. This story   
is very old, I actually started it before the Antarctic trial. So, because of that, the trial never   
happened in this story.   
  
All characters except Kelly O'Bannion are property of Marvel, and I am getting nothing out of this   
except writing practice.   
  
Continuity? Forget it. I can't follow the continuity myself, how can I in my stories? Oh, and if this   
isn't the real world, its closer than Marvel, so yes, there is swearing.  
  
Please, please, please give me feedback. I need, love, crave it! ?  
  
  
It played over and over in his mind. She wanted space, time by herself to be   
herself. She couldn't do that with him there? His soul felt crushed with the   
weight of her rejection. He loved her enough to want her to be happy, but he   
did wish it might have been with him. Finding yourself is one thing though,   
three months away is another.  
  
  
Six hours earlier...  
  
It could have been a tomb. The look was not exactly right, but the feel of it   
was near perfect. Almost completely black, the walls of the small room felt   
very close. Air conditioning hummed softly from the vents so the place was   
almost perpetually cold. The big table in the center of the room took up most   
of the space and made a single occupant feel extremely cramped if not   
actually seated at it. When it was well lit and the residents of the house were   
all present it didn't have that feeling at all. But alone, and particularly for the   
current resident, only the smell of moldy earth was missing.  
  
Doomed by his own hand to the shape he now existed in, Dr. Henry McCoy   
felt, in his most private thoughts, in his most somber and depressed moods, that   
he was already half in the grave anyway. While he was of course intelligent   
enough to recognize that being a big blue furry monster did not make him any   
less of a man, he was still human enough to occasionally feel sorry for himself.   
That his condition was the result of his own experiments did not make it any   
easier. McCoy, an accomplished research scientist at a young age, tried to   
use his genius to reverse some of his own mutant powers and change his   
appearance, which at that time was nothing more than a normal but oversized   
young man. The experiment turned Hank into the large fur-covered creature   
that was one of the leaders of the X-men today. Having access to advanced   
technology enabled Hank to appear as a normal man in public sometimes,   
but it was inconvenient and uncomfortable. When he was in a mood like he   
was tonight, he wished he could simply walk the streets as himself and live as   
other men did. A gentle, intelligent soul, trapped the body of a monster - his   
codename - beast was fitting.  
  
All of that aside, it was comforting to sit here in the black with only the   
essential console lights on and think (brood, Bobby would call it). Long   
resigned to the fact that his appearance was now permanent, and forgiving   
himself for his own part in it, Hank sometimes needed this time alone.   
Whatever he did, it made the trials of the next month or so bearable.  
  
He was saved from drowning in self-pity by the flashing emergency com-unit   
and the tone of an incoming message. Hank leaped up and thumbed the   
response button. "Greetings from the Xavier Institute. How may I direct your   
call?" he told the blank view screen.   
  
The response was less than positive. "McCoy, damnit! It's me O'Bannion!   
Since when are you the x-mansion receptionist?"  
  
"Since it became my unfortunate duty to monitor the emergency line on   
Thursday nights. You know how I hate to miss E.R.!" He moaned pathetically.  
  
"Cut the crap McCoy. You're always moaning about the mistakes they make.   
I know you're really pining for Courtney Cox. Besides, no one has to "monitor"   
the emergency line over there; the computer can call you no matter where   
you are. What gives? Some national mutant crisis that I don't know about, not   
bloody likely." She made an exasperated raspberry noise into the phone.  
  
"When I need some time to myself, away from the lab I hang in the com. room   
if no one else is here.   
  
"Aah, so you're brooding again eh? I know you, you're in there with all the   
lights turned out, with your feet on the table staring off into space. What's   
wrong McCoy? Still hung up on being the only old x-man?"   
  
"No, if you must know I have hit a dead end in my ongoing search for a cure   
to the Legacy virus. " McCoy told her in an exasperated tone as he unfolded   
his arms and swung his feet down off the table. "But now, I am here to serve   
you. How may I help you my dear? You know the x-men are always available   
to help our least known advocate."  
  
"Least known - ha - ain't that the truth! Last week the Creed campaign people   
called to ask me to do a piece on how the Friends of Humanity is nothing more   
than another special interest group like the dairy farmers or the council on   
families. Is that not the craziest bullshit you have ever heard in your life? The   
dairy farmers and the FoH might be similar if say the farmers made children   
drink milk at gun point, or they kept files on all the people who are lactose   
intolerant."  
  
"How do you know they don't? It seems to me that people often know I can't   
drink milk without my ever mentioning it." Hank said in a perfectly deadpan   
voice.  
  
"Come on Mulder, not everything is a conspiracy." O'Bannion shot back at   
him and they both broke up.  
  
It occurred to Hank that he wished she would call more often. "These pathetic   
attempts at humor are never going to win you any awards, stick to journalism.   
Now be serious for one moment and tell me why you called."  
  
"I've found him again." All the humor went out of the moment. Hank could feel   
the tension coming through from the other end of the line. His mind flashed   
pictures of the previous times he and other of the x-men had rescued Kelly or   
some one else from Browning and his experiments. While the reporter was a   
pretty fair hand at extricating herself from difficult situations, she called for help   
to save any of the doctor's victims she discovered.  
  
"What is he up to this time and where are you?"  
  
"Beats me and Colorado actually."  
  
"It's not just the same old, same old?"  
  
"Hank, you never know with Browning. And this time its like, super-weird. He   
and his, and I can't believe I'm saying this, followers are holed up in some   
retreat about an hour outside Boulder." She paused for a moment and then   
continued in a tone skating the edge of worry. "Also, there are way more   
people involved this time. I've observed from a distance, and I gotta tell ya,   
there are more than 300 people in this little enclave. It's not like his normal   
operation where the blood tests and urine samples in a doctor's lab cover up   
the real genetic experiments; he's got a Goddamn cult started! Trucks come   
and go all day long, unloading massive amounts of equipment. I'm tellin' ya   
Hank some bad shit is going down here."  
  
"I can be in Boulder in an hour with backup, just hold tight and we'll be there   
as soon as we can!" Hank was up out of his chair and going to another comm.   
link before he finished his sentence.   
  
"No, Hank, wait!" Kelly called, and he stopped in mid-dial to answer her.  
  
"There is something else?"   
  
"You don't need to come rushing out here. I'm just gonna have a look around   
and maybe do a little breaking and entering after every one has gone beddy-  
bye. There is no need for you or any of the others to come tearing out here   
with the goddamn blackbird, all costumed up and start a big to-do! I just   
wanted a friend to know what I was doing in case trouble did come up - ya   
know, sorta be on stand by."  
  
"While you get yourself taken prisoner or worse, I continue to sit here and wait   
and hope that nothing has happened and you are fine? That is simply not   
acceptable. Sit tight Scully, I'm on my way."   
  
"Oh enough already! O.K., o.k.., listen Hank never mind, I'll just observe their   
doings in town and from way back in the woods to make sure they don't all   
suddenly split. And, if I see something that needs serious, close-up   
investigation then I'll call ya immediately, I swear."  
  
"My dear Agnes do you think that I, Dr. Henry McCoy, am a total moron?   
Pffffah!! You will never wait if you think you might miss a scoop. If you do not   
want me to assist you why on earth did you call?" Hank's exasperated tone   
came through loud and clear and Kelly felt a swift stab of guilt/irritation at the   
sound of it.  
  
"Well, damnit, Hank I honestly did just want some backup or perhaps I wanted   
some one to know where I was in case I didn't show up later." she sighed.  
  
"Let me get this straight, you really want me to just sit here and wait and worry?   
That would be asking a great deal of me."  
  
"I'm sorry, but I've seen you guys in action. When some one asks you to handle   
a situation, you handle it, but subtle about it you are not."   
  
Hank chewed his lower lip in frustration, for once at a total loss for words. She   
was actually asking him to sit and wait by the phone just in case things went   
bad. How could he do that? What if something happened to her and he   
wasn't there because of her request? True, that was her wish, but still...   
  
"I will expect a call from you that all is well in five hours or I will be waiting in   
our booth at Denny's drinking that toxic substance they have the gall to refer to   
as coffee. Furthermore, I reserve the right to say 'I told you so' if anything does   
go wrong."  
  
"Beastie you're the best! You'll hear from me the moment I'm free...or when I   
can scrounge up a quarter."   
  
"Kelly you are a wicked child, and enough to turn an old man's hair gray."  
  
"Maybe so, Hank, but you love me anyway!" And the connection went dead.  
  
The control room suddenly dropped back into view. Hank noticed how quiet it   
was and jumped up to turn on ALL of the lights.  
  
  
A warehouse? God why?! This location was more secure than the other   
hideouts he had in the past (no nosy community to wonder what was going on)   
but such a place was hardly conducive to advanced genetic research. It fit   
well with the new theory of the cult of perfection, but she wasn't buying it. All   
the crates and boxes did make for excellent hiding conditions for interlopers   
such as her though, practically defeating the purpose of the safe location.   
Still, she was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she would check out the   
what of this location and worry about the why of changing methods later. No   
matter how the man's methods changed his ultimate goal remained the same.   
  
Dr. Browning supported the controversial theory that humans had reached the   
next stage in their evolutionary cycle, i.e. they were mutating into a new   
species. The rest of the country was terrified of mutants, of their activities and   
the fact that they could pop up anywhere. Browning, on the other hand,   
wanted to speed up evolution and force that next step on people right now,   
not in fifty or a hundred years, but next week if possible. This would put an end   
the mutant human - regular human hostilities, and he would be the great   
peacemaker. And, if these newly mutated human beings felt they needed   
guidance to see them through this change he would be there to provide it.  
  
It was Kelly's mission to see that he never got the chance. She became   
famous when she revealed the true horror of Browning's first experiments -   
performed on unsuspecting college students without their consent.   
Unfortunately her report came out right at the time when a group of mutant   
terrorists destroyed a new research facility dedicated to finding cures to those   
genetic mutations, which crippled the victim. All of the staff died along with   
their research. Outraged by the atrocity, an anti-mutant backlash swept   
across the country, and mutants suffered the first government control laws. A   
reporter who uncovered an evil doctor, who was threatening to suddenly   
create thousands more mutants, became a hero. In spite of a string of pro-  
mutant stories since, Kelly's reputation was of the great anti-mutant crusader.  
  
After seeing Browning in the compound, she had followed a van back to   
offices in downtown Denver where she learned that he had been recruiting   
people for what appeared to be a cult. Both the rich and the poor had   
flocked to this man who now said he had been wrong to experiment on   
people. His new purpose was to help others to perfect them selves from within   
and thus become spiritually the superior race he had tried to force them to be   
physically. It was not really harmful in and of itself, but Kelly would never trust   
the good doctor to give up his life long goal. She had seen first hand the   
results of his experiments and no one who could do that to another human   
being was going to reform and suddenly begin 'helping' humanity. Kelly'd   
made her call to Hank, just in case, then waited for sundown to look for a   
window in a dark corner to kick in.   
  
  
  
Still fifty feet back from the north end of the warehouse, Kelly climbed carefully   
up onto a large crate and pulled her binoculars out of her pack. A stage was   
set up across one entire end of the building with bright lights illuminating it. A   
huge audience, with the back row less than ten feet in front of her, were all   
held in silent thrall by the show. Dr. Browning stood on a raised dais in the   
middle of the stage with his arms in the air. Dressed all in glowing white, he   
smiled serenely at the throng before him, projecting the perfect picture of the   
benevolent leader.   
  
"Holy shit! If I wasn't so damn scared I'd laugh, or puke." she thought to herself.   
  
He stepped down from the dais with his arms still raised in benediction and his   
smile beaming. Reaching the front of the stage, he spoke. "My friends, tonight   
we are gathered here to witness the event that will show you the reward you   
will receive for all your hard work towards self-perfection."  
  
The audience shouted their approval. Kelly could see several who clasped   
their hands as if in prayer while weeping openly. She shook her head in   
disbelief; the old doc really had this group snowed.  
  
Eight figures in long white robes had joined the doctor on-stage and four stood   
on either side of their leader with heads bowed and hands clasped before   
them inside their sleeves. "You see before you examples of those closest to   
perfection among us." as he spoke, the small group on the platform raised their   
hands and threw back their hoods to reveal nearly perfect faces.  
  
"What do you know," Kelly whispered to herself, "the beautiful people really do   
have problems. Damn, Melrose Place is accurate, I owe Bobby some money."   
As she watched, each of them undid their belts and dropped their robes to the   
ground. All of them were completely naked, with not an ounce of spare flesh   
on any of them. Two more of the robed figures came forward carrying silver   
trays containing syringes and vials filled with a yellow fluid. They stopped   
beside the doctor and waited.   
  
"Ahah! I knew it! Knew there wasn't a chance in hell that guy would give up his   
pet project." Why use a few unwilling assistants when he could have dozens of   
loyal, adoring, volunteers? She sighed and refocused her binocs, "Now why   
would people who look like that belong to a cult?" It was just like yuppies -   
none of them actually had any real problems, so they went out and created   
some for themselves. Kelly was tempted to just leave and let these fools get   
what they deserved, but even fools needed a defender and (a dark part of her   
thought) the looks on their faces when they found out what they had been   
duped into would be worth it. Besides, it was going to make one hell of a story.  
  
"What reward could possibly be worth standing in front of three hundred   
people buck naked to get a big ol' nasty shot?" she wondered softly, adjusting   
her binoculars to focus in on one of the cult members.  
  
"You may just get a chance to find out unbeliever." A deep voice said behind   
her. Kelly lowered her binocs and turned slowly to look down at five of the big   
guards she had seen yesterday.  
  
"Five of you to one of me? Some of you could eat me for breakfast." She   
quipped. Kelly decided that, like all good Jedi, when outnumbered, attack.   
She dived over the side of the crate stack to land on one of them, surprising   
the others around him long enough to scramble to her feet and run for the   
door in the back. She was sure that there were other guards outside, but she'd   
deal with that when the time came. She hit the door with both palms flat and it   
slammed open and then shut. Kelly heard a satisfying crunch as the door hit   
one of the pursuers, but the feeling of supremacy was short-lived as she ran   
straight into the arms of another guard.  
  
"Ow! Damn do you have steal plates under your skin?" she scolded the guard.   
Sagging in his arms she realized that she was no match for Schwarzenagger's   
twin. He turned her to face the building and holding her hands behind her   
back, marched her back into the building.   
  
They brought her up on the stage with the doctor and his human guinea pigs   
and an angry roar from the doctor's followers greeted her. Another guard took   
her left arm while the original took her right and dragged her forward to stand   
before the doctor. He smiled coldly at her and she felt her flesh creep, this was   
as close as she had been to the man in years and the light of fanaticism   
glowed in his eyes. Oh man, she thought, he is way crazier than I ever thought   
he was.  
  
"Agnes! Well it has been a long time since you and I were face to face hasn't   
it? I am impressed that you found me! How marvelous, my first and most   
dedicated fan will not only witness my triumph, you'll be a part of it!" He   
laughed and clapped his hand gleefully.   
  
"I am not a fan." Kelly said flatly " And nobody but my grandma calls me   
Agnes." she drew back slightly and spit in his face, a nice nasty flem globber   
that stuck to the side of his nose. The crowd screamed in outrage, one of the   
guards drove a fist into the small of her back, driving her to her knees as the air   
rushed from her lungs in a loud "Woof!" while the doctor stepped back and   
with a disgusted snarl, wiping his face. Kelly concentrated on breathing slowly   
through her nose; she felt that if she opened her mouth she would throw up.  
  
"Bitch!" the doctor hissed. His mock congeniality vanished; he grabbed her   
shoulder and ripped her sleeve off at the shoulder, baring her upper arm. Kelly   
decided that spitting at him had been a miscalculation. An assistant stepped   
forward with the tray of syringes and the doctor chose one. He grinned at her,   
"You love all those muties more than any one I have ever heard of Agnes. I   
would think you would be glad to finally be one of them." Browning swabbed   
her arm with alcohol soaked cotton and injected the serum. He turned to the   
guards, "Take her to the last tank and hook her up. Pleasant dreams my dear."   
He said as the guards dragged her away.   
  
"It's never gonna work Browning, and you know it! I'll be dead by morning; this   
is just a convenient way to get rid of the evidence! All of you should know it   
too!" she shouted to the crowd. "None of you'll ever be pure enough, because   
his wonder serum is PURE CRAP!"   
  
The crowd shouted obscenities at her as the guards pulled her backstage and   
outside to another building. By the time they got to the other door Kelly was no   
longer able to walk, by the time they got inside the lab she was no longer able   
to stand. Technicians were standing by with what looked like a modern version   
of a glass coffin.  
  
"Great, fucking great, the whole snow white routine, only it's a shot instead of a   
goddamned apple." She slurred, even her voice was going.  
  
"You are not going to sleep, you are going into stasis." The tech. said matter-  
of-factly. "All of your bodily functions will slow down to coma level, except   
your conscious mind for short periods. " The tech. fitted a small Y tube into her   
nostrils as the guards laid her in the box. Another tech. gently removed her   
clothing and then attached wires with the small adhesive patches she had   
seen in hospitals to her chest, abdomen, and forehead. The first tech. worked   
at a computer station and the box began to fill with a clear fluid about the   
consistency of honey.  
  
"Readings coming up." he intoned, "Slight elevation in heart rate and blood   
pressure, less than usually occurs… interesting."  
  
"Any abnormal readings? All clear?"  
  
"No, all indicators are at optimal function." The computer tech. frowned   
slightly and typed on his keyboard, then relaxed and continued to monitor the   
new readings.  
  
The room was turning into a black pit for Kelly. She swam in and out of   
consciousness, while black and green spots bloomed before her eyes. The   
combination of fear, shock, pain, and being discussed as though she were   
only an interesting lab rat started a tsunami in her stomach, which crested over   
the side of the box and made a huge steaming puddle of Kelly's lunch. Didn't   
the apple fall out of Snow White's mouth, and she came to life? How come   
that didn't work for me? She thought blearily.  
  
"Do not be alarmed, this is a common reaction to the serum." One of the   
technicians reassured her. He summoned an assistant to clean up the mess   
and then returned to the computer with the other tech., "This should be most   
interesting. We have never had a subject who was not one of us. Having a   
control subject who is not pure, as those among us are, will give us a much   
better data pool to work from." Kelly saw, out of the corner of her eye, the first   
tech. smile at him in comradely anticipation.  
  
My God, they totally don't expect me to live through this.   
  
Holy Shit! I'm gonna die.   
  
And yet, somehow it was a comforting thought. Better to die than to live out   
her life as a mutated monster.  
  
They made a last check and closed the lid. Fluid filled the box completely.   
Heavier than water, it pushed her down to the bottom of the box, and she was   
covered in minutes. As her vision went totally black, Kelly's last coherent   
thought was, damn, there goes the deposit on my car rental.  
  
  
When she was twelve years old, Kelly had her tonsils taken out. She   
remembered slowly coming back to consciousness with the distinct impression   
that she was underwater, fighting to reach the surface. This felt exactly the   
same only it lasted waaaaaaaay longer. Also, everything felt close, boxed in   
and she HAD to get out. She began kicking, at first weakly, then with more   
force, at the sides of her prison. After a few minutes of effort, she was rewarded   
with a sharp cracking sound, and then another. She redoubled her efforts in   
that direction, and almost immediately felt a split in the cover. With a mighty   
Crrrrrrraaaaaaaaackkk!!!, the lid burst apart and Kelly threw the pieces aside   
as she leapt to her feet. Throwing aside the nasal airway, she gasped, drawing   
in a great lungful of air, glad to not be breathing that stale stuff any more.  
  
Every nerve ending screamed. A pain like no other rippled through her body,   
inside and out. She curled into a tight ball, trying desperately to contain the   
agony. After a moment it passed, and she was able to stand once again.   
She was still in the lab, and it must be late at night, because the lights were   
muted, and a single technician was on duty. Said tech. was cowering in a   
corner, his hands shaking and his eyes nearly standing out on stalks.   
  
"I'm cold." Kelly coughed hoarsely, "Can I have a blanket?" Her weak voice   
and shaking limbs restored the tech. to some semblance of control and he   
hurried to a cupboard, retrieved a blanket and brought it to her.  
  
"Thanks." Her normal voice was already coming back, although it did sound   
slightly higher than usual. Weird.   
  
Kelly held out one hand for the blanket and then pulled it back to stare at the   
appendage up close. It looked different; the fingers slightly longer, the nails   
long and squared off - not chewed and ragged. The first ripples of terror   
began working their way up her spine and she closed her eyes, "No, just   
another bad dream, that's all." Willing her eyes to open, Kelly examined her   
arms - definitely thinner - she quickly shut her eyes again.  
  
"Tell me it's dark and I am imagining things. Tell me I look the same as before,   
just covered with goo a-and I-I've been in here a long time, that's why I'm   
thinner - right?" she whispered to the waiting tech.  
  
He stood frozen and would not meet the eye she cracked open to stare at him.   
The man opened his mouth, but nothing came out for a minute. Then he   
swallowed and pointed to a mirror on the back of one side door, still unable to   
speak.  
  
She stepped from the ruins of the box, careful to avoid the sharp edges of the   
shattered Plexiglas. She turned to face the mirror and then forced her eyes   
open. Almost nothing remained of the petite journalist who had entered the   
room - five feet four was now five feet eight and nearly all of that was legs. Her   
sort-of square face was now heart-shaped with a pointed chin, round cheeks   
and almost over-sized blue eyes. Mouse-brown fuzzy hair was replaced by   
glowing golden, reaching down to her waist. Even though she was now taller   
she had actually lost weight - truly amazing.  
  
The nearly overwhelming shock was damped by her new appearance; it was   
a definite improvement, but to have it happen all at once... She was also still   
in a tremendous amount of pain, which now seemed to be localizing itself in   
her back, God, it was becoming agony! Kelly bent forward, moaning, trying to   
take the pressure off her back somehow.  
  
One of the patches had remained attached to her chest and a loud beeping   
began to sound on one of the consoles. The tech. hurried over to read the   
display.  
"My God, your temperature is soaring! 102, 105! We've got to cool you off!   
Quick, into this other tank!" He hurried to her side, reaching out to take her   
arms.  
  
Eyes filled with murder met his, "Don't even think about touching me!" She   
hissed, shoving him away to slam him into the mirror. It shattered across his   
back like a bomb, sending fragments scattering across the room. Kelly   
stumbled to the outside door, knocking over another monitor and completing   
the room's destruction. It will be cool out there she thought, wrenching the door   
open, belatedly setting off the alarms the tech. had been too stunned to   
activate, and spread her arms to the cold night air. The pain in her back   
coalesced to a small line and when she spread her arms the skin on her back   
burst open.   
  
The tech., followed by several guards came rushing out the door and stood   
stunned at the sight of her. Opening up from the slit that had appeared on her   
back were a double pair of butterfly wings. As the wind flowed over them they   
expanded far above her head and trailed on the ground behind her. Kelly   
turned to see who had come out of the building and caught site of the reason   
the pain had finally gone away. A gurgling gasp was the only sound that   
managed to escape her throat. Operating on automatic, she continued   
turning and caught site of Browning just as the doctor appeared in the   
doorway.  
  
The doctor's hands flew to his mouth and everyone stood without moving for   
three full minutes. Staring in amazement the doctor couldn't help but reach   
out to her, "O'Bannion? It is you isn't it? But this is amazing..." he took two steps   
towards her.  
  
Kelly ignored him completely. Now that the wings had opened she could feel   
them just as if she had an extra set of arms. But not only could she control their   
movement, she could feel the wind moving over, against and around them;   
already she could feel the lift the wind would provide her. Her gaze slid from   
one blue/green appendage to the crowd that had formed outside the ruined   
lab.  
  
Everyone took a step back.  
  
"S-she must be pure." the tech. next to the guard looked embarrassed, the   
guard nodded with complete understanding.  
  
No concerns for his cultic dogma bothered the doctor. Gleeful malice   
suffused his face, "My dear, you're beautiful! A mutant fairy princess!" he   
continued toward her, all but drooling with anticipation of savoring his triumph   
at her expense.  
"Sir, are you sure that's such a good idea? She destroyed the lab..." one of the   
guards whispered, unable to control the note of shocked indignity from his   
voice.  
  
"Quiet you idiot!" Browning growled, giving the guard a strange look, "I need   
to examine her and it won't be possible if she gets away." To Kelly he said,   
"Miss O'Bannion, please come inside, you will freeze out here."  
  
Kelly at last took notice of the doctor, who was now just a few feet from her.   
"Maybe so man, but damned if I'm going back in there either. Do you think   
that I would submit to your tender care because I'm cold? Are you out of your   
mind? No, wait, don't answer that, I think I already know that one." A hatred   
blacker than the doctor's soul colored her face and made even him take a   
step back. Then she backed away from him, ran forward, shoved him aside,   
and rose into the air just as she reached the watching crowd.  
  
Each of them ducked and then all heads turned skyward to watch her accent.   
With two powerful strokes of her wings, she reached the roof of the building   
and stared down at the watching crowd. Browning shouted at her, but she   
could not make out his words over the rising wind. After a minute he realized   
this and began gesturing to his people to go after her; she smiled, he would   
not catch her now that he had given her the means to escape him.  
  
Spreading her wings to catch the wind, Kelly leapt from the side of the building   
and soared out over the compound and the trees beyond. Having never used   
them before, her wings gave out only two miles down the road and she was   
forced to land. She thanked whatever gods protected new mutants for it was   
just enough to make it back to her car. Having no keys, she grabbed a   
branch and smashed out one of the windows. On the floor, under the seat,   
right where she left it was her cell-phone. Whispering another prayer she   
pressed the dial button and was rewarded with green light and a dial tone.   
The mansion was #6 and she pressed it hoping against hope that Hank had   
rerouted to pick up at Denny's because she was certain that more than five   
hours had passed.  
  
  
Hank nearly broke Storm's arm diving for the com. button when the rerouted   
number began to chime. "Kelly? You better have a good excuse for the hell   
you have put me through these last few days."  
  
There was silence for a moment on the other end and then a tiny frightened   
voice that bore almost no resemblance to that of the tough little reporter   
squeaked, "Days?!"  
  
"Yes. Five to be exact." all the anger and impatience drained from Hank at the   
sound of her voice and he collapsed back into his seat. "Where are you   
O'Bannion?"  
  
"F-f-fi-five d-days? Well, I suppose that makes sense...I'm two miles from the   
compound, in my car, its red. How s-soon can you b-buh-be here? I don't   
have any k-keys and they may be after Me." she had begun to shiver, both   
with cold and the now double shock.  
  
"I got it, Storm, turn ten degrees west we should be there in two minutes."   
Bobby gestured with his chin out the window.  
  
"We'll be right there Kel, remain calm and focus on my voice. Are you   
injured?"  
  
An almost unhinged-sounding laugh popped from the link, "Injured is not the   
word for it, although it definitely hurts like hell."  
  
Hank relaxed a little, that sounded like Kelly.   
  
  
Before Ororo could bring the plane completely to rest on the narrow stretch of   
highway, Hank had jerked the door open and jumped down to the waiting   
asphalt. Bobby was only a step behind him and the two of them dashed for   
the woods. The car was only twenty or so feet from the road, and Hank could   
see the back of a head above the drivers seat. "Kelly!" he called, using   
extreme control to keep from screaming her name. He bounded to the drivers   
side and nearly ripped the door off its hinges in his haste.   
  
From inside a weak voice called, "Hank? Is that you?" She leaned forward and   
the light of the almost full moon illuminated her altered appearance. Her eyes   
met his, "It seems the doctor's experiments have become at least partially   
successful."   
  
Hank stared at her for a moment, "Oh my stars and garters!" he reached in   
and scooped her up into his arms.  
  
Bobby met them at the back of the car, he blinked in surprise at Kelly's   
appearance and then grinned, "Who would have thought elves lived in the   
woods of Colorado?"   
  
"P-p-piss off Drake. You came all the w-way out h-here and f-forgot to b-b-  
bring a blanket?!"  
  
"Oh, right." a moments thought returned him to his human appearance and he   
tore off his jacket to cover her.  
  
  
She just couldn't sleep. Kelly'd lain there for an hour and still sleep would not   
come. Even with the pain pills Hank had prescribed it still was impossible. She   
sat up and threw on a shirt and shorts Ororo had lent her, grimacing at the   
memory of how she'd snapped at the other woman when Storm had   
commented on the fact that she and Kelly were now basically the same size. It   
was meant, of course, as a light joke. Ororo was clearly hoping to put the   
other woman at ease, knowing that Kelly was nervous and unsure of herself in   
the mansion. Unfortunately, Kelly took it as an insult on her former heavier   
weight. It took only a glance of hurt from the goddess to tell Kelly she had   
taken the words wrong. The reporter had hung her head in shame and Ororo   
had immediately hugged her in understanding, the awkward exchange   
smoothed over, but Kelly still felt the sting of shame at her own stupidity.  
  
Sighing and shaking her head at her own reflection, Kelly padded out into the   
hall in her bare feet. Light streamed in the window at the end of the hall, silver-  
gilding the edges of objects along the hallway. Kelly turned toward the   
window and walked down to discover the source of the brightness. She knelt   
on the seat in front of the window and saw the full moon glowing throughout   
the trees, gilding all of outdoors with the same silver sheen as that inside. Kelly   
crouched in the seat and folded her knees up against her chest to gaze up at   
the moon. Somehow the beautiful scene seemed wrong, inappropriate in a   
way. The night after I'm turned into a monster should not be a radiant, moonlit   
night she thought. This should be the night I meet the handsome adventurer   
who also happens to be an award-winning photojournalist whose career path   
perfectly meshes with mine and wants a mad, passionate affair that leads to   
marriage and two beautiful children. Kelly ground her teeth at the thought.  
  
And what do I get instead? I'm f**king Barbie with wings! She pictured her   
editor at the paper seeing her reshaped ears and bit her lip. This surged into   
the picture of her mother's face when confronted by the change fate had   
wrought upon her daughter. The thought of her mother brought a sudden   
longing into her heart. "Oh Mom!" Kelly sobbed aloud and buried her face on   
her folded arms, attacked by a storm of tears.  
  
  
He just couldn't sleep. Air conditioning and heating units, run by the mansion's   
computer, kept the entire house at a perfect 75 degrees at all times, but   
sometimes that in itself was annoying. Memories of nights in another place,   
where, even with the air conditioner going it was thick, damp and warm, kept   
interfering. Along with other memories of a certain southern belle, it was a   
wonder he ever slept at all. Sitting up abruptly, he leapt out of bed and   
dragged on a pair of shorts and a shirt. Picking up his cigarettes, he decided   
to see what the view from the roof was like tonight. He started for the window,   
but remembering the effects on others of his use of that route he again   
changed his mind and headed toward the door.   
  
Stepping out into the hallway, a slight movement at one end alerted him to a   
human presence and he turned to look. A figure he at once identified as   
female sat crouched in the window seat shaking slightly. He possessed an   
extremely low level psi-talent that usually allowed him to do no more than   
influence a person slightly, but he could occasionally pick up strong feelings   
and this girl was radiating misery with a built-in amplifier. If she were projecting   
objects instead of feelings they would have been boulders. His brain cried out   
for him to turn away and not get involved, but instinct interfered. He could no   
more leave a woman in distress than he could walk away from an open safe.   
And besides, he might have a reputation as a worthless nar-do-well, but he still   
had a heart; the downside to being a gallant rogue was not the rogue part, it   
was the gallant.   
  
Swearing softly, Remy tucked his cigs in the waistband of his shorts and strode   
down the hall to the window. Dropping into the seat beside her, he gathered   
the weeping girl into his arms and whispered softly, "Hush now chere', can' be   
all dat bad." She wrapped her arms around him and cried all the harder.   
"Okay, it dat bad, you go ahead and cry on ol' Remy's shoulder he won' stop   
you." Holding her tightly with one arm, he used the other to pull her onto his   
lap where he rocked her gently, stroking her back, and murmuring soothing   
words. After crying for several minutes more, she slowed down into occasional   
hitching sobs and then, unbelievably, her breathing slowed and she fell   
asleep. Remy stared at the sleeping face in complete astonishment. Falling   
asleep in a stranger's arms, much less his, just seemed impossible to the   
cynical reprobate.  
  
He turned slightly so that the light would reveal her features and possibly   
identify her. The tear-streaked face was one he did not recognize, but it was   
obvious that she was a mutant. Her face had extremely high cheekbones and   
was thinner than normal. And sticking up out of her reddish blonde hair were a   
pair of small, delicate, but distinctly pointed ears, had he needed any further   
confirmation of her species. Her features were simply more pronounced, more   
there, no other way to explain it. None of this detracted from her   
appearance, however, and her small mouth was undeniably sweet. Unable to   
stop himself, Remy bent to kiss that mouth. He tasted salt, and felt her lips   
curve in a smile before responding to him in kind. Her arms came up around   
his neck and he pulled her tightly against him.   
  
They paused and she leaned back, languidly examining his face, then froze,   
"What the hell?!" she gasped.  
"Merci chere', dat was nice. Oh, and now dat dere open, I can see you got   
pretty eyes too." a wicked grin lit Remy's face.  
  
The blush of embarrassment replaced the redness from crying that had faded   
from her face. Angered, she tried to pull away. "Who are you? I was sittin'   
here havin' a nice self-pitying cry and next thing I know I wake up kissin' some   
guy I've never seen before!"   
  
Remy projected a feeling of comfort to her and stroked her cheek with the   
back of his fingers. "I'm sorry, came out for a walk, saw you down here cryin'   
and couldn't jus' leave you." The grin turned into a sheepish smile…   
  
"Well, t-that's, ahem, " she swallowed, "That's well, that's terribly gallant of you."   
Relaxing against him she searched his face, "But who the hell ARE you?"   
  
"Allow me to introduce myself - Remy LeBeau, at your service Ms....?" he   
managed a credible courtly bow, seated with her still sitting on his lap.  
  
"Kelly O'Bannion - reporter, and - Oh my God!" She sat up straighter, "LeBeau?   
Then you're...Gambit?"  
  
"Oui Chere', de one an' only. But you can'n be Kelly O'Bannion, she's a   
human. True, she a reporter and from San Francisco, but dat would only make   
her strange, Non? Not a whole ot'er species. Dat's only de politicians."  
  
Her annoyance abated slightly at his joke. "I'm O'Bannion alright. Why do you   
think I was out here ruining my make-up? For fun? " She stared at him for a   
moment, suddenly pissed off again and shoved at him, "Damnit let go of me -   
grrrrrrr - gallant my ass, you saw an opportunity and you took it."  
  
Remy deliberately lifted her off his lap and set her on her feet, "If dat's what   
you tink of me chere' you can comfort yourself!" he rose and took a step down   
the hallway, muttering about female stubbornness.  
  
She laid a hand on his arm. "Wait! Sorry, I didn't mean to get so defensive. I'm   
scared, and you interrupted a roaring bout of self-pity. I - I've had several bad   
shocks in the last 48 hours, no sleep, and I wasn't ready for another." she   
turned to the window again.  
  
He came back to her side, "Tell me what happened den. I promise jus' to   
listen." he deliberately put his hands behind his back and sat on them.  
  
She fought the grin that tried to spread across her face and resumed her seat   
beside him. A colleague who covered the New Orleans area that Kelly had   
known for many years once told her about the thieves in the city - and about   
one in particular.   
  
"The prince of thieves, possibly one of the most dangerous men alive, even   
without being a mutant." Ned had taken a huge drag off his cigarette - he   
even looked nervous. He had seen some seriously terrible things and normally   
didn't turn a hair, but now his hands were shaking.   
  
"Ah, come on, what's so scary about a thief? Sure they steal stuff, but doesn't   
that guild group have a reputation for violence only in self-defense?"   
  
He nodded, "Yes, but LeBeau is different. The assassins, the other group I told   
you about? They run and hide when some one mention's the guy's name..."   
  
Kelly had laughed, "Oh, bullshit. Okay, I can buy them being cautious about   
a mutant thief, but we are talking the assassins -they kill for pay, don't they?"   
  
Ned just shook his head, "Yeah they do. That's why I intend to stay far away   
from any man the assassins are afraid of." Ned's words flashed through her   
mind in a split second.  
  
How could this handsome charmer be this terribly dangerous man? Perhaps to   
his enemies he was a danger, but not she, at least not physically. Those   
strange, (red…his eyes are red. And they glow, wow, scary and really, really   
cool…) fascinating eyes searched her face even as she examined his. All   
angles and lines, not a hint of softness anywhere, except his mouth, and again   
those eyes (Is the white part black? How the hell can he even see?   
Damn…he's way beyond handsome). He was waiting - waiting for the   
inevitable rejection, or the surrender to his not inconsiderable charms. At last   
she met his eyes squarely and smiled. Damned if she was going to fall for him   
at first sight, and damned if she was going to walk away either. He was   
offering friendship and some one to confide in. No way was she going to turn   
that down, or screw it up. Instinct told her to trust him and her instincts had   
never been wrong.  
  
Taking a breath for courage, and resuming her seat, she told him the story,   
staring at her hands as they twisted in her lap. He was silent at the end and   
she looked up to catch his reaction.  
  
"And to tink alla times I felt sorry for m'self as a kid, gettin' used ta bein a   
mutant wid my father and brother around to protect me." he shook his head,   
"And now here's dis bitty girl who changed all at once, surrounded by   
enemies... you got more courage dan good for you chere', but I guess you   
needed all of it, didn't you?" he reached out with one hand to clasp her chin   
and with the other wiped away the two tears that had run down her cheeks   
while he spoke.  
  
Any idea she had of being afraid of him was wiped from her mind in that   
moment. Kelly threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder -   
this time crying in release rather than self-pity. Remy clasped her tightly,   
rocking almost imperceptibly and smoothing a hand through her hair.  
  
Kelly sat up, dashing away tears with the back of her hand, "Geez, when did I   
turn into such a bawl-baby? I never cry, it's a rule." she smiled faintly, issuing a   
laugh-sob and then a large braying hiccup. She clamped her lips shut and   
stared out at him from her huge reddened eyes.  
  
He blinked in surprise and then threw back his head to howl laughter. Quickly,   
he covered his mouth but stray snickers continued to escape around the   
edges. Kelly opened her mouth to berate him but another hiccup came out   
instead and the two of them collapsed against each other, shaking silently with   
shared mirth.  
  
It was several minutes before Remy could get a hold of himself enough to take   
a deep breath and wipe the tears from his eyes. Standing, he pulled her to her   
feet and led her silently downstairs to the kitchen. He filled the kettle and set   
out two mugs, while she took a seat on one of the stools and watched him.   
Each of his movements was controlled. He possessed such a developed   
awareness of his body that he appeared to ignore it. Only once before had   
she seen such grace, in a Korean kick boxer she'd met in a bar in Thailand.   
That guy had made peeing against a wall in an alley look like ballet. She   
sensed that Remy would be the same. Oh, nice going O'Bannion, less than 12   
hours in mutant central and you manage to piss off Storm and Bobby, hurt   
Hank's feelings twice over, and now you are about to share tea with the   
second scariest member of this little tribe after getting in a fight with him and   
kissing him. How much more of a wreck can you make of things here?  
  
  
"Fascinatin' homme. Her bones hollow non? But how can some one change   
like dat? He leaned on the monitor and looked at Hank.  
  
McCoy shrugged, "How were the changes upon my own person wrought? The   
body is essentially a framework covered by a pliable container full of   
chemicals. Change the chemical makeup and the balance of the electricity   
that runs it and anything can happen."  
  
Remy rolled his eyes, "In English, please."  
  
Hank opened his mouth to explain further but was interrupted.  
  
"Hey! Jerk faces! This bag o' chemicals would like to get up from the freezing   
exam table and get dressed. Do you think you could save the lecture until   
after that professor?"  
  
"Oh! My dear, forgive me..." Hank undid the connections to the exam unit that   
covered her and unhooked it. "If you reach back and push up it will lift off by   
itself now. We'll wait in the office for you." he turned to Remy, pushing lightly   
on the other man's shoulder. Gambit winked at her and the two men   
disappeared into the next room.  
  
Growling in annoyance, Kelly slipped out from under the exam cover and   
hurried to the chair containing her clothes. Bitching silently to herself as she   
dressed, she wondered about what Hank had found, 'Hollow bones?' but only   
birds had hollow bones. Well, she supposed, how else would I be able to fly?   
Normal bones would be too heavy, but still, it's like something out of a story.'   
she tucked her T-shirt into her jeans, still marveling at the distance from her   
navel to the floor, ten days ago she would've had to stand on a chair to be   
looking that far down (or so it seemed). She straightened and went to the door,   
where Hank was continuing his explanation to Remy.  
  
" '-tion she described must have acted as a replacement for amniotic fluid,   
see how some of her bones haven't closed off?" Hank pointed to a three   
dimensional display of Kelly's X-rays, focusing on a knee joint.  
  
"Non homme, you're still talkin' 'bove my head. Wha' would amniotic fluid   
have ta do wid new bone structure?"  
  
"Yeah." Kelly came to stand between them, "What would that do? Back up   
Hank and explain, please." she smiled at McCoy to take the sting out of her   
demanding tone. At her new height, she was at eye level with the Beast and   
reached just up to Gambit's chin, though Remy outweighed her by more than   
seventy pounds, and Hank probably more than two hundred.  
  
Hank nodded, "Of course, forgive me, and how are you feeling now?" he   
snagged a stool from under a desk and held it for her to sit on.  
  
She climbed gratefully up and seated herself, hugging her arms, "Better. I'm   
still sore from overuse, but it feels like its mostly healed, its just annoying." she   
smiled, "So, have you got any solid conclusions yet?"  
  
"Yes." he held up a printout so they both could see. "It appears that an   
activator was injected into your system, you were placed in a form of   
suspended animation, and during that time your form mutated from petite   
brunette, to Amazon blond - with wings." Hank smiled a little.  
  
Kelly blinked, "An activator? What the hell is that? And what were you saying   
about amniotic fluid? Hank, come on, details, I want details."  
  
Hank looked at Remy, "She looks completely different, but her personality has   
not changed one iota." He looked at her then back at the printout. "Well, my   
dear, it appears as if you were a mutant before the doctor pulled his little   
stunt."  
  
"Whaaaaat?!" Remy and Kelly said together.  
  
"One of my theories on the Legacy virus, why it now seems communicable to   
humans as well as mutants, is that many humans have a dormant mutant   
gene." they continued to stare at him, so he smiled and continued, "Take, for   
example, the Guthrie family - mutants are rare, and yet two out of ten children   
are mutants - that's amazing odds - if you realize that mutants occur one in   
every five thousand - its nearly unbelievable. And Scott and his brother, the   
only children of their parents - both mutants - the odds for that happening are   
astronomical. So, I believe the mutant gene is dormant, and undetectable in a   
very large percentage of the population.  
  
Remy stepped closer and put an arm around Kelly, hoping to stop her   
shivering. Oddly enough, a few minutes of holding her hand and he had   
become her protector. Not by her choice or his, (at least not consciously) but   
nevertheless, he had barely left her side in the week since she had arrived. He   
found her strange mix of risible good humor and foul-mouthed irritability to be   
oddly attractive. His wide experience with different women had made him   
something of a connoisseur. Remy LeBeau liked interesting women. "Ok, dat   
soun's reasonable, but what abou' petite' here? She was human before, wha'   
dis t'eory o' yours got ta do wit' her?"  
  
"Well, unless I am able to obtain a blood sample of yours before the   
experiment, I cannot prove it, but I believe you were a carrier of the mutant   
gene in its dormant form. I should test Jean's parents and others to look for the   
chemical signature...hmmm..." Hank paused for a moment in thought, and   
then came back to the present, "That is why all the other subjects the doctor   
tested his theory on died, none of them had the gene, dormant or not."  
  
Kelly shook her head, looking tired, "But Hank, this is just speculation, granted,   
it seems to fit..."  
  
"Oh, I have other evidence. You brought me blood samples before of some of   
the people he experimented on, and I believe I have synthesized his activator.'  
She drew in her breath in surprise and drew back against Remy; she didn't   
mean to it just happened. "You what?!" she gasped, trying to keep the   
revulsion down in her voice.  
  
Hank smiled, "Now calm down, it would be the first step in reversing the effect,   
if that is possible. I tested it in normal human blood samples and the result was   
a terrible break down and unchecked mutation of cells, in a live person, death   
would have been certain and painful. I then tested it in a sample from Jean's   
mother..." he looked at the two of them expectantly.  
  
"And?" Kelly demanded in frustration.  
  
"The cells mutated as before, but in an organized pattern and only about 2   
percent died."  
  
"Merde." Remy breathed.  
  
McCoy nodded to the other man and smiled at Kelly, "Another problem I have   
been trying to get a handle on for several years, is why some mutations   
manifest outwardly, and others only internally. For example, again, Jean is a   
telepath - that's all mental and internal - from the outside she is a normal   
young woman. Scott on the other hand has the optic blast, outward and   
physical, he is marked for life. As are you Remy, your eyes are hidden, or   
every one knows you are different."  
  
Remy bristled slightly, Kelly could feel it, but Hank couldn't see it, "Yeah, so,   
and what does dat have ta do wit da price o' tea in China, homme?"  
  
"I compiled a list of know mutants and their powers, then as much as I was   
able, added in the circumstances of the manifestation of their mutation. So as   
a result those with a supportive home, and a safe environment, had an easy   
transition and usually no physical manifestation of their powers. Those with a   
more difficult childhood had a progressively more physical manifestation. In   
some cases, it was also an unattractive manifestation, as in the cases of the   
morlocks."  
  
Kelly felt Remy stiffen again for some reason, and patted the hand on her   
shoulder gently. He squeezed her shoulder and relaxed again. "So, you are   
saying that I had this dormant gene, and when it was activated in a traumatic   
way, the result was a strongly physical manifestation? Does that mean it can't   
be reversed?"  
  
Hank sighed, "Yes, that is precisely what I am saying, it may have been the   
manifestation that would have happened to you anyway, but of course we will   
never know. Unfortunately, I do not believe it can be reversed at all, no matter   
how it happened. I would not try, even if I were sure that is how you were   
changed, because trying to do so would almost surely kill you. The odds of   
that happening are too high for me to risk it. I think the activator caused it to   
change you, and the traumatic way it was administered may have caused this   
radical change, but I think you were already a mutant so reversing it is out of   
the question."  
  
Remy looked down at her, "It not so bad chere', you can still pass for human at   
least."  
  
She nodded, "Yes, and don't think I'm not grateful for that, but I can't pass for   
me anymore. I could say I went on a radical diet and had a face lift and   
dyed my hair, but I can't explain growing five inches."   
  
McCoy adjusted his glasses, scanning another screen. "That is the unfortunate   
truth my dear." he turned and looked at her over his glasses and suddenly   
smiled, "Luckily you are who you are...uniquely equipped to handle nearly   
any situation. That particular talent has always made you a valuable ally to us,   
and I daresay that some one will likely be acting on your new circumstances   
posthaste."  
  
Kelly wanted to go to Hank and throw her arms around him and give him big   
wet sloppy kisses to tell him how much she appreciated his confidence in her,   
but she knew that would only embarrass him. Instead she tilted her head back   
to look up at Remy, "He really does talk like that all the time, doesn't he? I   
thought it was just to impress me."  
  
Gambit grinned wickedly and looked at Hank, "Non chere', Dr. Henri always   
talk like we in de lecture hall."  
  
Hank appeared to ignore them in favor of examining the present readout,   
adjusting his glasses on his nose. "Yes, unlike my southern colleague there, my   
diction is not merely an affectation. I am an educated man and my speech   
reflects that." Nonetheless, she could see the hint of a smile at the corners of his   
mouth.  
  
Remy chuckled and cleared his throat. Letting go of her and standing up   
straight, he walked around and stood between them. "Dat's..ahem...THAT's   
right. I can...speak...perfectly...flat...if I...choose...to." he sighed and relaxed,   
smiling his charming smile, "But it hurt non?" They all laughed helplessly.  
  
From the doorway another voice raised as the laughter died down, "We   
wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable Gambit, I was under the impression it   
was your job to make the rest of us feel that way." Charles Xavier's voice was   
accompanied by the soft hum of his hover-chair and his gentle smile took the   
sting out of his words. He didn't tease often, as he was not particularly good at   
it, but for Remy he made the effort.  
  
It did not go unappreciated. "Professor, I'm hurt. Wha'd ol' Remy ever do to   
make you uncomfortable?"   
  
"Your last attempt at cooking I believe was mildly disturbing." he turned to   
Kelly, "Gambit's idea of 'lightly spicy' could be substituted for weapons grade   
plutonium."  
  
Hank laughed, "It was worth it to see the steam coming from Bobby and Scott's   
ears though!" he grinned up at Remy and the three men burst out laughing.  
  
She smiled tolerantly at them. "Men are just bigger versions of little boys."  
  
Grinning even wider, the Beast reached out and hugged her tightly with one   
arm, "And that, my dear Scully is why women let us live."   
  
  
Stepping back, panting hard, with the sweat dripping off her nose, Kelly bent   
forward and put her hands on her knees. ~I will not barf, I will not barf~ She   
said nothing for a moment, just tried to get her wind back. When she looked   
up, Remy stood watching her, his expression unreadable, not even sweating,   
and leaning on his staff only to strike an attractive pose rather than for any   
kind of support.  
  
"You better take a break Papillion petite'. Dis your first day, no sense in making   
yourself sick. We go longer tomorrow, and after dat, we invite Bobby and   
Stormy to play too." He bent down and brushed a sweat-soaked curl off her   
forehead and smiled gently. This was the first time she had seen him in his   
'working clothes' and was duly impressed. He had entered the room wearing a   
long trench coat and the only thing different she could see was the cowl he   
wore around his face to keep his hair out of his eyes, and gloves that left two   
fingers bare. He'd stripped the coat to reveal the most outrageous outfit she   
had ever seen. A breastplate of red (actually, it was pink, but my gawd…was   
it hot or what? Did he realize how tough that thing made it to concentrate?),   
molded to his body, blue skin-tight covering for arms and legs, decorated with   
panels of yellow up the sides of his legs, and high boots with metal plates   
covering his knees. If it hadn't been for the fact that the outfit hugged every   
curve of his extremely fit body, she would have fallen down laughing on the   
spot. As it was, she grinned broadly and had to bite her lip.  
  
He'd caught on to her amusement right away and shaken his head. "Dis be   
serious business chere'. Even if you don' decide to stay, gonna be people in   
dis world comin' after you when you least expect it. Gonna havta learn to get   
outta da way fast or strike back."  
  
"I can't stand violence though. Who will even know about my mutation if I'm   
clever enough to hide it? No one but the people here know about it, and they   
won't tell."  
  
"What about de ten or so people who saw you leave de outpost in Colorado?"  
  
Her eyes widened, then shut as she grimaced in frustration and swore in long   
and colorful phrases that brought a deep smile of appreciation to his face.   
"Damn, I forgot."  
  
He nodded and strode to her side, idly turning a six-inch cylinder he carried in   
his left hand. She'd discovered that aside from his other abilities, Remy was   
ambidextrous. Whether he'd developed the ability or been born with it, he   
could write with either hand, juggle and do amazing card tricks. Until this   
moment, she had seen only the charming trickster. Now he was suddenly   
deadly serious, his angular face suddenly hard and cold.  
  
"Gonna teach ya to protect y'self, so if some one decide on a little revenge,   
you be ready. If you decide to stay wid us for a while, den you gonna learn to   
be part of da team." the sudden smile returned, "Dat was de hardest lesson for   
me, for certain." The smile vanished and he began showing her a series of   
defensive postures, stances to protect softer body parts. Then he moved on to   
showing her quick escapes, bending, jumping and twisting, all designed to get   
out of the hold of a larger opponent.   
  
She spent an hour copying his moves and then, without warning, he attacked.   
Punches and lunges were suddenly almost knocking her off her feet. The   
cylinder he'd carried in became six feet of admantium and not only did he try   
to hit her and trip her with it, but when she flew to get away from him, the staff   
followed, spinning in a murderous arc that she was just able to dodge in time.   
Hovering near the ceiling she launched herself down at his chest, enraged by   
the attack, and was just able to stop in time to keep from ramming her skull   
into the floor because her target had vanished as though made of vapor. She   
collapsed on her side and was only able to get up after lying there for several   
minutes.  
  
"Anger your greatest enemy. Put it aside when you fight and you survive every   
time. Let it out and you a fancy decoration on some one's wall."  
  
Climbing to her feet Kelly snarled, "Oh and I suppose you are always calm and   
collected in every situation, staff boy?"  
  
"Non, dat be Gambit's second biggest challenge, but I be an experienced   
fighter, know when ta let de beast loose." he produced a handkerchief from   
somewhere in his costume, and cupped her chin to wipe her face. "Papillion   
be green as grass and not straight on de crawlin' much less de walkin'. You   
learn detachment and de moves wi'out tinkin', den Gambit show you how ta   
be mean about it." He hesitated for a moment, then leaned in close and   
kissed her gently. When he pulled back a moment later, she found that her   
arms had gone around his neck without her knowledge. Quickly she pulled   
her traitorous limbs to her sides and sighed.  
  
"Well, thanks for the lesson, but you're right, I'm about ready to drop, and I'm   
starving. Think you could treat a girl to a sandwich?"  
  
"Oui chere', but firs' you need a shower." he waved a hand in front of his face,   
a look of mock disgust barely held in place.  
  
Kelly threw the handkerchief at him and stuck out her tongue. She stalked to   
the door and he followed, but turned left. "I'll meet you in de kitchen in half an   
hour."  
  
"Yeah-yeah just follow your nose Mr. Cajun smart-ass."  
  
He grinned at her back and turned up the stairs to the observation booth. The   
door slid open at his approach and he strode up to look over Hank's shoulder   
at the computer screen.  
  
"So? What de good word doc? My Papillion do ok?"  
  
"Butterfly? I would never have called her that in a million years. Ms. O'Bannion   
performed remarkably well, considering she is the only person who has never   
engaged in combat to be tested in our facility." Hank swiveled around to look   
up at the Cajun. "She needs a considerable amount of practice before you   
try her in a team situation."  
  
"Mmm-hmmm." Remy nodded, "Gonna go a few more rounds wid' her myself,   
then let others go wid her, one on one like. Den she be ready to try de group   
therapy."  
  
  
Bobby hissed in pain and yanked his wrist out of McCoy's grasp. "Damn Doc,   
be more careful!"   
  
Beast raised an impressively furry brow and retrieved the hand, spreading   
ointment on the scraped, bruised wrist and then wrapping it tightly. It took all   
his willpower not to laugh at Bobby. 'Iceman' had not been paying attention   
when he moved to shower Kelly with ice chips and had gotten a nasty rap on   
the wrist for his troubles.   
  
Seeing that Kelly was going to need some kind of defense other than dropping   
on people from above, Gambit had acquired a Bo staff like his own for her.   
Being trained primarily by him with only minor input from a few of the others,   
she had rapidly become adept at dodging, kicking and breaking holds but,   
she'd had no way to take the offensive until he got her the staff. Eight weeks of   
practice had given her considerable skill.   
  
Unfortunately, Bobby got to be the one to discover just how much. In his ice   
form she thought he was invulnerable to physical attacks and the hit would   
only make him wince. He was iced up, she was done with tinker bell jokes for   
one day and damn near broke his hand off.   
  
The door to the infirmary opened and Bobby stepped out into the hall. Kelly   
stood against the opposite wall, looking twice as miserable as he did.  
  
"Bobby! It's ok isn't it? I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to..."  
  
"Kel, stop, its fine, Hank says its a light sprain and will heal up in a week or so."  
  
"But I never should have..."  
  
"Yes you should!" Bobby gripped her arm with his good hand and smiled at   
her, "If I can't learn by now to get out of the way against some one as green as   
you, I deserve to get more than a, ahem, slap on the wrist."  
  
"More like a smack across de ass, homme." Everyone else was upset, or   
amused, but Gambit looked from Bobby's wrist to Kelly and could not contain   
an expression of smug pride. Hank sputtered, then snickered and finally   
ended up leaning against the wall, tears matting his fur as he pointed from   
Gambit to Kelly to Bobby and back, making only faint hissing sounds.  
  
Kelly raised one brow and looked a the younger men, "It appears our friend   
has finally lost his long battle with sanity."  
  
"Oui Pap, Monsieur le Bete' done gone round de bend."  
  
"No, he's laughing at the fact that Kelly tagged me.  
  
"And...Hee-hee.... mmmm-hehehe...Gambit's face!"   
  
The new teacher raised a confused eyebrow, glancing back and forth   
between them. She looked him over and then blushed.  
  
"You look...Pleased Coach."  
  
Hank smiled and patted Gambit on the shoulder, "You are to be commended   
my friend, I do not believe anyone here could have provided her the   
necessary training with half the success."  
  
And to everyone's astonishment, Gambit was the one who blushed then.  
  
  
The top of the laptop closed without a sound and made Kelly wish for the old   
behemoth she had used years ago that weighted 20 pounds and closed with   
a nice satisfying smack. If she tried to slam this thing shut it flipped off the   
table and hit a wall, shattering into several useless pieces, she had reason to   
know. Not that doing it wasn't in many ways more satisfying than slamming the   
thing shut, but it interfered with deadlines, and that she could not afford.  
  
Staring out the window, she knew the cause of her current frustration was that   
she no longer had deadlines. If she appeared in her editor's office, if she   
could get into the building, he would never recognize her, or believe her story   
of what had happened. Basically, her life as it had existed before was gone.   
  
  
A walk would do her good she decided. The grounds of Xavier's mansion were   
extensive and there were plenty of places for privacy. Strolling between two   
trees she came to a large rock and climbed lightly to the top. Spreading her   
wings she lifted silently into the air and rose above the treetops to drift on the   
wind. After an hour or so she came down, landing on a substantial tree   
branch and sitting, letting her legs swing in the air. Her mental equilibrium   
restored, she closed her eyes and just let the wind run through her hair.  
  
"A little more relaxed chere'?" Kelly looked down to find her mentor smiling up   
at her.  
  
"Yeah, actually, thanks." She grinned down at him and patted the space   
beside her on the branch. Remy shinnied up the tree like any active twelve-  
year-old, and sat beside her.  
  
"Gonna be broke pretty soon de way you keep t'rowin' your toys around." He   
held out a piece of bright green laptop casing.  
  
She nodded, "Its hard to get used to the idea that the career I worked so hard   
for is gone. Man, it's like being in a car accident and being burned or   
something, I'm not me anymore."  
  
Remy shrugged, "Den be somebody new; never know, you might like it." He   
cupped her chin and kissed her on the end of the nose. Kelly blushed and   
leaned away, smiling, opening her mouth to say something when she froze   
and so did Gambit beside her at a strange hissing sound that came from the   
ground near them.  
  
The air shimmered as if a sudden wave of heat had appeared, and a circle in   
the middle of the shimmer turned white, then black. The hissing sound   
became a roar, and an explosion of light, heat and air nearly knocked them   
off the branch. Pushing hair, leaves and dirt out of her eyes, Kelly looked down   
to see a strange, costumed man standing below. She'd seen Magneto, both   
live and on TV, and other foes of the X-men as well, but this guy… At six foot   
five with a well-developed physique, the man would have been impressive if   
those were his only outstanding qualities. But his skin was chalk white and his   
eyes were glowing red, all one color. His blue and black body armor looked   
more than adequate and when he looked up and smiled at them she wanted   
to run and hide somewhere. His teeth were yellow fangs, gleaming wet and   
obscene.  
  
"Oh J—s Coach, tell me you don't know this guy!" Kelly jumped to her feet, her   
wings rippling out behind her, as she got ready to take off.  
  
His hand was a vise on her arm. "Stay right here, Gambit handle dis." She   
watched in amazement as he leapt from the branch into the air, did a triple   
summer salt and landed before the man without a hair out of place. "Neat   
trick Sinny. You gettin' good wid de tesseract. It didn't set off one alarm dis   
time."  
  
Those mind-numbing eyes pinned Gambit in place. "Should I choose to do so   
LeBeau, I could appear in your mansion with no one the wiser. However, since   
it is yourself and the new mutant signature I detected here this week, this spot   
will do nicely to conduct my business.  
  
"And what might dat be homme'? You t'inkin' maybe we could chit-chat and   
enjoy dis nice autumn day together?"  
  
"Actually, I was hoping to speak to Ms. O'Bannion, although my lab would be   
the best place for our discussion."  
  
"And you t'ought you just bring ol' Remy along for de ride?"  
  
"As a matter of fact, yes. You have been overseeing her training. It has likely   
given you some insight into her abilities. Of course there are other items and a   
job or two which you still owe-"  
  
"Merde! I don't owe you notin' Essex. Not a G—damn thing!"  
  
"Aw Remy, now you know that is not true. Or has your sense of honor suddenly   
deserted you?"  
  
Kelly's voice, which seemed to have dried up dead in her mouth, finally   
resurrected itself at that. "Hey, listen you Dracula wanna-be! I was having a   
really nice afternoon, you coming along and spoiling it by scaring us and   
talking about me like I'm not here is putting a big damper on it. Since you   
weren't invited, why don't you just blow?"  
  
Those awful eyes looked up into the trees and shriveled Kelly's soul. "Ms.   
O'Bannion, I assure you, I am not ignoring you. You will come back to my lab   
with me so I can ascertain how that buffoon Browning was able to accomplish   
this most remarkable transformation you seem to have gone through."  
  
"Nu-uh, no way howdy! I've been poked and prodded enough to last me   
years by McCoy and the man's a friend. I don't know you from Adam, so you   
can just f—k off right now!"  
  
The man opened his mouth to say something when he suddenly looked down   
to the belt that circled his waist. An ace of spades was tucked behind it,   
issuing a faint pink glow that grew stronger by the second, going red almost   
immediately. "LeBeau! How did you accomplish this? I felt nothing…" He   
looked uncomfortable as the glow began to spread from the card to the rest of   
his belt.   
  
"Better activate dat portal now homme. It ain't gonna do you much good in   
about 20 seconds."  
  
The man growled, baring those impressive incisors, and rapidly pressed   
buttons, "You had best give up on sleep LeBeau, or you will never protect her   
from me." That crazy circle appeared beside him almost at once and with   
another explosive bang, he was gone.  
  
Gambit looked up into the tree, "Be alright now chere', he's gone."  
  
"That's good, Coach, 'cause I know we didn't have enough to invite him to stay   
for dinner." She blinked, then her eyes rolled back in her head and she   
collapsed backward off the branch. He leapt forward and caught her just   
before she hit the ground.  
  
  
  
Gambit carried her back to the mansion and silently crept up the stairs to her   
room. Luckily, her wings retracted when she fainted, so they weren't   
damaged. He laid her down gently on her bed and smoothed the hair off her   
face. For a moment he sat there, just admiring her elven features. "So brave   
Papillion petite', Sinny make me shake in my boots and you yell at him first   
time you see him." He stroked the side of her face with the back of his hand,   
smiling at her tenderly. It had taken him by surprise, as it had with Rogue. One   
minute she was his friend, his first student, whom he had to both protect and   
teach to protect herself.  
  
Then, a few days before, they had been eating breakfast and he stuck a   
wedge of orange in his mouth, turning to her to show her a smile that was all   
orange peel, and she was doing the same thing. BANG!! With no more than   
that, it hit him. It had never been so sudden. Belle could take care of herself,   
but she lacked the sense of humor that Kelly had. Storm was already an   
accomplished thief, she'd needed his support, but meeting her as a child, he   
could never see her in a romantic way. And Rogue? Ah if only…but, she   
couldn't trust him. He'd never let her down once, but she couldn't see past his   
past. He still loved her, he'd never stop, but he couldn't have true love with a   
woman who made him feel guilty all the time.  
  
He sat back, now Kelly was going to be afraid of him too. He stood up, turned   
to go, when her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.   
  
"O.k. Coach, out with it. Who was that creep and what has he got on you?"   
She pulled herself up and stood beside him.  
  
"Nothin' chere'…nothin' you need to worry 'bout. Whatever goin' on 'tween   
him 'n Gambit ain't none of your concern." He turned away, fishing through his   
coat pockets for his cigarettes.  
  
"None of my…? Why you wretched, arrogant, son of a bitch!" She knocked   
the pack of cigarettes he had just found out of his hand and, ground it into   
powder with her heel.  
  
He stared at her in fury, "Hey! Dos were not de cheep ones! Gambit don't   
smoke no Marlb-"  
  
"Shut up! You're not gonna turn away my questions with those smelly things   
and talking in third person. Is that supposed to be cute? Its just plain annoying   
anymore." She grasped his arm; "You're shaking like you just had a run in with   
Satan. Frankly, you're not a person most people would want to encounter in a   
dark alley and that guy has you lookin' like you're about to make wee-wee in   
your pants." He yanked his arm away and turned to the door, but she   
followed, dashing in front of him and blocking his way. "He was after me,   
some how he knows about Browning and he knows I'm a mutant – Remy, if   
you're scared of him, think how much of a danger he is to me?!"  
  
All through her tirade he'd averted his gaze, staring at the floor. But her last   
sentence snapped his head up like it was on a rubber band. "NEVER!! Not   
gonna let him TOUCH you!" Remy pulled her into his arms and held her   
fiercely. "Gambit never let – I won't let dat happen, ever!"  
  
Kelly felt as though she were drowning in the sudden wave of emotion. Anger,   
fear, desperation, vile black hatred, and sweet fragile love hit her like blows   
from hard fists or caresses from gentle fingertips. She tightened her own hold   
on him, letting the blows come. When he began to ease off she turned her   
head to speak softly into his ear. "Its o.k. Coach, I'm all right. We're in the   
mansion, no one can hurt me." Little by little, his grip relaxed and she freed an   
arm to reach up and push his bangs off his forehead, still repeating the   
soothing words.  
  
He looked down at her, his eyes glowing, emotions still raw. "Sorry chere',   
didn't mean to get so upset wit' you. Not you I upset wit' o' course."  
  
"Then tell me. I'm your friend and I can see that this is eating you up inside.   
We all make mistakes: think I'm perfect? How many times have I tossed aside   
my 'journalistic integrity' because I wanted the damned story? How many   
times did I join the argument instead of observing it? I lost count. I've   
committed dozens of 'little crimes' breaking and entering, a blackmail – "  
  
"How 'bout murders chere'?"  
  
"Murder?! Bah, you couldn't murder anyone if you tried."  
  
Another ripple of agony spilled out of him and left her breathless, "See? You   
don' know me at all."  
  
"I know the only way some one would die at your hands is self defense or an   
accident."  
  
"Be nice if dat were true." He started to pull away again, but she clutched the   
sleeve of his jacket and forced him to face her once more.  
  
"Tell me what happened. Let me judge events for myself. I'm pretty good at   
judging events rather than people."  
  
Habit almost made him push her away one more time. But looking into her   
eyes, he realized she might be different. She wasn't one of the X-Men, wasn't   
some one he'd tried to seduce, wasn't a young girl with hang-ups and a history   
of being lied to. She was used to listening to people tell their stories and giving   
a fair hearing. He nodded and led her down the hall to the window seat they   
had shared on their first meeting, and he spilled his guts.  
  
Everything. Growing up on the street, the thieves guild, the wedding with Belle,   
being exiled by his father, the things he'd done to survive, what Sinister had   
done for him, and what Remy'd done to repay him. "Oh Pap…all de blood…it   
soak through my boots…" He covered his face with his hands and sobbed.  
  
It took five minutes for Remy to calm down. When he lifted his eyes to her face   
it was to see tears making silver tracks down her cheeks identical to the ones   
on his own. "My God! So…horrible! I want nothing so much as to go back in   
time and find that little boy living on the streets and scoop him up and take   
him home." It took a moment for that to sink in to his tortured brain. She wasn't   
judging him…she was hurt for him.  
  
"And, I think we need to get out of this window seat and never sit here again."  
  
He looked puzzled, "Quoi? What are you talkin' 'bout?"  
  
"Every time we sit here one or both of us ends up blubbering."  
  
Remy stared at her in shock, he'd just revealed the whole tale of his sordid past   
and she was making a joke? Then the ridiculousness of the situation, and the   
fact that she wasn't judging him came together for him all at once. Gambit   
grinned and dragged her against him, kissing her deeply.  
  
Kelly couldn't have resisted if she'd wanted to. A wave of relief-love-joy   
emanated from him and nearly drowned her. All the thoughts in her head   
vanished in favor of burying her hands in his hair and returning his kisses with all   
the strength in her body. When the tide of emotions receded she collapsed,   
feeling like a sand castle the last wave had washed away. "Coach, did you   
say you had some kind of empathic ability?"  
  
"Yeah Pap." He grinned, suddenly his old self again.  
  
"Really? Do you always have control of it?  
  
"Uh…no, sometimes it get away from me…"  
  
"Oh good, I was afraid I'd temporarily lost my sanity and kissed some horribly   
dangerous, completely handsome guy that's in love with some other girl…"  
  
"Not in love wit anybody else Kel-"  
  
"Because that would be totally stupid and against all my personal rules of   
conduct…"  
  
"Nobody I wan' right now but you chere'-"  
  
"And it would complicate the whole I-just-became-a-mutant-and-now-some-  
mad-scientist-dude-is-after-me…What did you say?"  
  
He reached out and stroked her cheek with his fingertip, "You mi Papillion   
petite'. Ain't nobody I want but you."  
  
"You know, maybe you are a little crazy after all…" she backed away from   
him, her mind conjuring a million painful scenarios that would result from his   
words.  
  
But it was too late. Remy caught her wrist and pulled her back. "Non, you not   
goin' nowhere." With a gracefully bend-scoop action he swung her up into his   
arms and carried her down the hall. "No more window seat, it not be big   
enough for what Gambit have planned." Pushing his own bedroom door   
open, he deposited her on the bed. Before she could make a move he sat   
beside her and pulled her close again for another heart-stopping kiss. And   
after a while, she stopped caring what he called her.  
  
  
Scott set his coffee cup down a great deal harder than he had intended.   
Everyone in the kitchen noticed because he hissed when the hot coffee   
slopped over his hand and the handle broke off. No one said anything of   
course, the X-men had all seen this particular play again and again.  
  
Act One: Friday morning Cyclops announces early morning danger room   
session for Saturday morning.  
  
Act Two: Gambit, who already had plans, goes out Friday night and comes in   
around four a.m.  
  
Act Three: Saturday morning the X-men assemble for coffee and donuts   
before their session, and Gambit, being just a bit tired, is still in bed and is late   
for, or misses altogether, the danger room session.  
  
  
Jean quietly took away the cup, wiped up the coffee, and set a fresh cup   
before her husband. Before Scott could begin his familiar tirade, Kelly walked   
into the kitchen, dressed for practice.  
  
  
"Mornin' all. Well, damn, this is a happy bunch. You know, if you scheduled   
this danger shit later, you'd all suffer a lot less."  
  
"Our enemies don't keep polite schedules Ms. O'Bannion." Scott almost   
growled his reply.  
  
"I'm sure not, Mr. Summers." Kelly said in her most professional, deadpan   
voice. "But is it really necessary to punish yourselves in response?"  
  
Scott chose to ignore that comment. "I' don't suppose you've seen our missing   
Cajun friend this morning?"  
  
Kelly blushed, then nodded and took a pull on her coffee, "Yeah, last I saw, he   
was sleeping like a baby."  
  
Cyclops was too pissed off to notice her change in coloring, "Well then, if you   
would go and wake the Gerber boy, we can get started." He rose, downing   
most of his coffee in one gulp.  
  
She didn't move, just looked at him, "First, I'm not your errand girl, and second,   
No, I won't wake him. He, uhhh, had a rough night last night and he needs his   
sleep." She buried her nose in her cup to hide an even deeper blush.  
  
"Oh yes? And just what was it that kept him up so late that he felt it necessary   
to let his teammates down…again?"  
  
Let you down?" Kelly laughed without much humor, "Missing practice is letting   
people down? What is this, a high school football team? Its sure not a pro   
team, they get paid, for risking their necks."  
  
"You are a guest in this house, Ms. O'Bannion, not a member of this team. As   
leader of the X-men, I will decide who is letting whom down."  
  
"Whom? Did you just say whom? Wow, I will have to run the spell check on the   
'puter for that one."  
  
Scott set down his new cup with a bang (Jean sighed with relief when the   
handle stayed attached this time), leapt to his feet and closed the distance   
between him and Kelly in a heartbeat. "You are not one of us. You don't get a   
say in an argument about the behavior of one of our members."  
  
Bobby leaned over to whisper to Logan, "I want to stay and see Kelly rip Cyke's   
head off, and yet I'm afraid of being injured as an innocent bystander."  
  
Wolverine grinned viciously, "One eye's about to be taken to the cleaners, I'm   
not movin' a muscle. Ain't afraid of a little blood."  
  
"You're damn right I'm not one of you! If you were king mutant of the galaxy, I   
wouldn't follow your sorry ass for one damn minute! You're so focused on your   
position, and your dominance, you can't loosen up enough to let each person   
be who they are. It's all about you and never them." She waved a hand at   
Jean, "How long did you date this woman? Ten, twelve years? It took you that   
long to marry her? What? Were you afraid it was a bad move? Do you get out   
a compass and charts before you plan to take a shit? You've gone through   
hundreds of life-threatening situations with all of these people, and because   
Remy misses practice now and then, he's naturally going to let the team   
down?" Her eyes were shooting sparks and no one in the room was brave   
enough to say a word. Kelly raised a hand and poked a finger at Cyclops,   
making a point each time her finger dug into his chest. "I've seen you giving   
him disapproving looks. Anytime anyone steps the tiniest bit out of line, you   
are all over them. You better lighten (poke) the f—k (poke) up (poke)! Or one   
of these days you are going to be blasting away at some bad guy and the   
heart attack you are going to get is going to tear your arteries to shreds."  
  
"I do not need advice from some hack report-"  
  
"STOP right there! Scott if you say another word…"  
  
"Jean, I-"  
  
"Before you dig your own grave Mr. Summers, I suggest you listen to Kelly, she's   
only been saying all the things I've been saying for years."  
  
Scott stared at Jean in shock, trying to take in what she'd just said. He'd not   
really listened to what Kelly was saying, just waiting to take the reporter down   
and peg and get out his frustrations on some one since Gambit wasn't around.   
Now the words started to sink in. Had he really been that thoughtless? Was he   
so fixated on team goals that he couldn't see each person as an individual,   
not as just a cog in the machine? Turning his eyes from Jean he looked at   
Kelly. He had on his new indoor glasses, not his working visor. The small lenses   
with the wrap around sides showed move of his face and gave other people a   
better idea of where he was looking.  
  
Before he could think to form an apology or even a retort, he saw Kelly's eyes   
flare with anger and pain.   
  
"Right, hack reporter, gotcha. That's just fine. I think maybe that's enough   
east-coast hospitality to last me for the rest of my life." She stepped around   
Cyclops and was out the door and up the stairs in seconds.  
  
"Wow Scottie, nice one. I'm not exactly a Gambit fan myself, but that was so   
childish you ought to be wearing diapers under your uniform."  
  
  
With one hand she typed plane reservations into her laptop. With the other she   
packed. (That's enough of that bullshit. I'm going back to San Francisco and   
take my chances with my editor.) The computer beeped, confirming her flight   
and she printed out the flight number and reservation confirmation, stuffed it in   
her purse, zipped up her bag and reached back to shut the 'puter. Her hand   
froze as she looked at the pack of pictures she'd left on the desk. She could   
open up the pack and look at them again, but she knew them all by heart –   
nearly every one contained Gambit. Unzipping the bag she tossed in the   
pictures and then sat at the desk. A few quick lines rattled off, then printed out   
and she was done. On her way down the hall she stopped outside his door.   
She paused for one agonizing moment and then bent and slipped the note   
under his door. Kelly laid one hand on his door and bowed her head. "Bye   
Coach," She whispered, "I'll miss you-"   
  
  
Remy woke with a start, for a moment totally disoriented. (I'm alone in my bed,   
that's normal…Non, its not! I went to bed wit' Pap…what time is it…MERDE!)   
The clock read 10:45 and he remembered the danger room session, the one   
that he'd missed when it occurred nearly three hours before. He leapt out of   
bed and ran for the shower.  
  
  
She looked out the window at the rapidly shrinking New York suburbs and   
sighed. (Goodbye and good riddance, I'm going home where I belong)   
Closing her eyes and leaning back in her seat she let the tears make tracks   
down her cheeks, opening her mouth to taste the salt that flowed into the   
corners and onto her tongue.  
  
When he entered the kitchen, no one else was there, so Gambit made himself   
a sandwich, picked up the discarded Wall Street Journal and perused the   
headlines. He was nearly finished when Logan walked in.  
  
"Hey Cajun, how come you're not out kickin' Cyke's ass?"  
Remy looked up from his paper, "What? Why? Shouldn't it be de other way   
round mon ami? After dis mornin', dat makes what? Three times I be late dis   
month?"  
  
"True, but some one already told him where he could stick his early mornin'   
sessions."  
  
Gambit's eyes widened, "Non! Cyke not yell at de bug?!"  
  
"Yeah, but she gave back as good as she got, and Jeanie defended her."  
  
"Den why you t'ink I should be kickin' de Fearless's teeth in?"  
  
"Maybe 'cause he called her names and she left two hours ago."  
Logan was usually prepared for anything, but Gambit's reaction was not one   
of them. He expected the boy to rage and blow the place apart, but Remy   
just got slowly to his feet and left the room.   
  
(She just leaves, no goodbye, no nothin'. De all leave me, sooner or later.) He   
opened the door to his room and walked in, rapidly stripping off his uniform   
and changing into jeans and a tee. Not knowing what else to do, he started   
again for the door when he saw the note.  
  
Dear Coach,  
  
It looks like I just overstayed my welcome this morning. I said some things that   
needed to be said, but I know I'll just cause trouble if I stay. You are the   
reason I have stayed so long anyway. Not just your training, but you. Last   
night? Well, I won't write an 'about last night' letter. Just know you are a good   
man, a man who has managed to get dragged through the mud and still   
come out clean. These people don't deserve you, and neither do I. I know, I   
know, women always leave you, but I'm not leaving you, I'm leaving   
Westchester. You will always be with me, every day, riding around in the   
spaces in my heart that used to be empty.  
  
My French sucks, so I'll just say it in plain English.  
  
Goodbye Remy, I love you.  
  
Kelly  
  
  
Scott walked in the front door of the mansion with a towel around his shoulders,   
meaning to go down stairs and use the steam room; possibly working some of   
the tension out of his shoulders and belatedly taking some much needed   
feminine advise. He almost collided with Remy. "Oh, Gambit, I wanted to talk   
to you about this morning. I know I'm not the most understanding of leaders at   
times and I – "  
  
The younger man's fist connected with the other man's jaw like a savage bolt   
of lightening. Scott spun 180 degrees and landed on his ass with a thump.  
  
"Hack reporter? A guest in our home dat has no say in anyt'ing goin' on here?   
You self-righteous-bleep a bleepin' ……"   
  
Even though his ears were ringing from the blow to his chin Scott was able to   
realize Gambit was calling him every bad name the Cajun people had ever   
invented and some they hadn't. He heard not only his parenthood being   
questioned, but also the size and shape or even lack thereof of his male   
anatomy. Remy went on to question his intelligence, comparing him to several   
inanimate objects such as toe-jam and bellybutton lint. He finished with   
personal issues like lack of personal hygiene, describing in detail his inability to   
use soap, a toothbrush, deodorant, or toilet paper. Gambit took a breath,   
apparently to issue forth more colorful patois, but instead to cough up a large   
bit of phlegm, which he spat directly into Scott's face.  
  
Before Cyclops could recover from that, Remy stepped over him and headed   
out the door. As Scott sat up and climbed unsteadily to his feet, he heard the   
roar of the other man's Harley speeding off down the driveway.  
  
Kelly lay down on the couch, tucked her feet under the blanket, and picked   
up the remote to do some serious channel surfing. It was great to be home.   
The cleaning agency had faithfully come in once a week and dusted, and at   
one point a friend had come over and cleaned out the fridge, so things were   
basically in order. She had ordered a pizza from the place around the corner   
that would also bring a six-pack of beer and now she lay on the couch waiting   
for her feast to arrive. Having lived alone for so long, living in the mansion with   
sometimes a dozen other people was nerve-racking. Living alone was lonely,   
no doubt, but it was also peaceful.   
  
Surfing along she found the Princess Bride just about to start and with a grin,   
relaxed, waiting for the opening.  
  
He had waited nearly a week for just such an opportunity. "Bonjour mon ami."   
The pimple-faced teenager carrying the take-out pizza nearly dropped it, but   
Remy rescued it easily. "Got a proposition for you homme."  
"Look pal, this may be San Fran, but I don't swing that way."  
"Non, dat not what I t'inking at all! I give you a hundred bucks for de pizza   
and de uniform you got on."  
"Are you serious?"  
"You takin' the delivery to de girl in 120?"  
"Yeah, how did you-?"  
"Den give me de pizza, de salad, de beer and de hat. I give you de cash."  
"Y-you're not gonna hurt her are you?"  
Gambit grinned, "Non, it be a surprise. But 'cause you asked, I give you a   
bonus, what do you say?"  
The kid pulled off his hat and set it on top of the box, handing both over.  
  
Ding-Dong  
  
"This is the story I read to your father when he was sick and now I'm going   
read it to you."  
"Does it have sports in it?"  
"Of course, Sword fighting, monsters, giants, miracles, true love…"  
  
"Just a minute!" Kelly jumped up and grabbed her wallet, fishing out her cash   
as she opened the door. "That was $32.96 right?"  
"Oui, chere, plus my tip."  
Kelly froze and stared at the man before her as he raised his head, revealing   
his red-on-black eyes and wicked smile. All the muscles in her hands went   
numb and her wallet dropped to the floor, the two bills she'd pulled out wafting   
gently after it.  
"You came."  
"Of course. Gambit get tired of de femme's running away and leaving him to   
be bored by himself." He just managed to set his burdens down before she   
flung herself at him. Remy held her tightly kissing her with a wild abandon,   
pushing her into the apartment and kicking the door shut behind him. He half   
carried, half pushed her to the couch where he settled beside her to continue   
kissing her more thoroughly.   
  
For several minutes the world stopped for Kelly. When they paused for a   
breath, looking into each other's eyes she took his face in her hands, cupping   
his cheek. "Stay here with me, stay with me always."  
  
He spoke in tandem with the hero on the screen, "As you wish."  
  
  
Charles Xavier opened the envelope with the admantium letter opener   
Wolverine had given him last year. The card inside was a beautiful picture of   
an old house, strung with modern lights, covered with snow, a young family   
standing on the front steps, a tall man and woman and a little boy of about   
three held in the crook of the man's arm. Inside, there was no printed   
message, just a handwritten 'Merry Christmas, Peace and Joy to the World!   
From our Family to Yours.' there was a loose photograph of the boy, sitting   
before an enormous tree, holding a puppy. The boy had strawberry blonde   
hair, an almost wicked smile, and blue eyes with black sclera. Charles smiled   
to himself, if Gambit was no longer fighting for the professor's dream; perhaps it   
was just as good that he had found a dream of his own.   
  
  



End file.
